Ever feel like SIGGRAPH has just a little too much going on? The similarly themed VIEW Conference 2015, which offers immersion in many of the same issues, but on a smaller scale, is set for October 19–23 in Turin, Italy.

Attendees will be exposed to some of the same kinds of information the would find at SIGGRAPH — ILM will enjoy another retrospective of its 40 years in visual effects, and industry luminaries including Kung Fu Panda 3 director Alessandro Carloni and Skywalker Sound's Randy Thom will be discussing their work in front of attendees. But VIEW Conference Director Maria Elena Gutierrez told StudioDaily the experience will be "smaller and more intimate."

For example, she said, all of the conference's major presentations take place in the same theater, so artists are encouraged to see each other speak. "There's no running down the hall to try to make the next presentation, while missing another one scheduled at the same time," she said. "Speakers sit in the same theater as attendees, watch each other's presentations, and are influenced by those presentations. And because the speakers are in Italy, they have the luxury of time to sit and listen to the other talks. This creates a spirit of idea sharing."

Asked whether virtual reality would be in the foreground, she said it would be part of the conference but not prioritized over other elements. "VIEW focuses on showcasing the creativity of professionals in animation, visual effects, games, architecture, and other fields in which artists use computer graphics. We try to be balanced."

In keynotes this year, Mark Osborne, director of The Little Prince, will discuss the process of adapting the Saint-Exupéry novel; Thom, the sound designer behind The Walk, Crimson Peak, and The Peanuts Movie, will give a presentation titled "Teaching the Camera to Listen: From Apocalypse Now to The Peanuts Movie"; Jorge R. Gutierrez will present "Every Picture Tells a Story," covering his 25-year career to date; and director and character designer Shannon Tindle will discuss his Google Spotlight Story, "On Ice." And Carloni will offer an advance look at Kung Fu Panda 3, slated for release in January.